Habits
by Lyra Kamiya
Summary: In the wake of such a monumental death, Team 10 needs all the comfort they can get... And more... Spoilers for 328, TemaShika, InoChou
1. Chapter 1

1Standard disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Obviously.

Major spoilers for 328, as in, the chapter of the manga that JUST got released. Don't know/want to know what happened, don't read.

Later chapters will likely be lemony, and thus will only really be posted on mediaminer.

**Habits**

She hadn't told him she was coming back into town again so soon. She wanted to surprise him, and Temari could only hope that Godaime hadn't warned anyone of her impending presence.

Shikamaru _was_ usually her guide, though, so there was certainly the risk he'd been told. Knowing that, she'd booked it to Konoha at top speed, sleeping less than she normally did to shorten the three day journey. Even if he knew she was coming, she could still surprise him by showing up a few hours early. She loved to surprise him; loved the irritated pout that would creep across his lips whenever something went out of order and against his plans. She knew by now that it was the only way to get ahead of him, for even a brief moment, and it gave her a rush to know she could outwit Konoha's genius chuunin.

But it seemed today, she was the one in for a surprise. She had arrived at the end of his street just a couple hours after dawn, only to find him outside his house, leaning against the wall. That in itself didn't shock her as much as it could have, since she knew by now that he was perfectly capable of getting up before noon if given a decent reason.

No, the surprise was something that she had to look at three times before she was certain of what she was seeing.

Nara Shikamaru had a cigarette perched between his lips. A lit one, complete with trail of smoke weaving into the air above him. He was smoking.

She wasn't sure why this stunned her as much as it did. For quite some time, Temari had known that his teacher - what was his name again, Asuma wasn't it? - was a smoker, and so it shouldn't have been odd for him to pick up the habit from the man he so admired. And it wasn't that the habit didn't suit him. There was, in fact, something oddly natural about seeing the lazy teenager taking a slow drag then watching as the smoke escaped his mouth and drifted into the air. Everything about the act was slow and deliberate, just the way he liked his life to go.

It was probably just that he seemed too smart to pick up something so unhealthy. When she stopped to think about it though, she guessed that it would just be too troublesome for him to care about cancer or any of the other possible side effects. He was, after all, a ninja, and they were faced with death on a near-daily basis...

Satisfied that she'd worked out an answer on her own, Temari cracked her knuckles and continued on down the street, approaching him quickly. If he'd noticed her or her pause, he hadn't given any indication - there was no hello, nor did he duck back inside the house as he did on occasion. He just continued staring off into the sky, watching the clouds and the smoke drift off.

"Oi, Shikamaru," she called once she got close. He continued his vacant stare for a moment, then slowly glanced her way, no hint of emotion on his face, as usual. She continued towards him, reaching out to flick at his cigarette with a snapping motion. "This is new," she chided, earning a slight eye roll. "It's in my way," she continued, "I can't exactly kiss you with that thing in your mouth."

He muttered something, and seemed to give in as he took one final drag and dropped the butt to the ground. Shifting his weight to halfheartedly crush it under his foot, he turned his head and released the smoke away from her face - a relatively courteous gesture coming from him. A grin crossed her face as she glanced around, verifying that the coast was, in fact, clear, then leaned in to kiss him.

She was stopped by invisible restraints a few inches away, her eyes going wide in confusion. It took a moment for her to recognize his kagemane jutsu, but the position his hands slowly slipped out of coupled with the almost annoyed look on his face let her know that that was exactly what had happened.

"I don't have time for this sort of troublesome thing today," he explained with a sigh. "I've got something important to do." With that, he released the binds and - more out of habit than affection - brushed his lips across her cheek before turning away to walk down the road. She watched him retreat for a moment before her eyes dropped to the crushed butt at her feet. It took a second to fully grasp what had been different about him this morning, aside from the air of sulk in his demeanor.

His attire, rather than his usual black pants and chuunin vest, had been solid black from head to toe. His hair was done more neatly than normal, as though it'd actually been washed and brushed that morning instead of pulled out of his way haphazardly.

The words, "who died?" popped into her mind and threatened to escape her lips quite loudly, but she surpressed the urge. Without even pausing to consider whether he wanted her company, she dashed after him, falling in step beside him.

"I'm already dressed in black... Can I come along?" she asked, leaning forward to get a better look at his face. She tried smiling at him, but even then he didn't look her way. "Well, I can't have you moping like this, so I'm coming," she informed him, straightening again.

She remembered how he'd been when Chouji had nearly died. She remembered watching him cry, remembered feeling powerless to help the boy for whom her emotions had only started to grow. She wanted to comfort him now, because she could, because she didn't want him to wind up like that again, but somehow she knew everything coming out of her mouth was too obnoxious for her intentions.

There was a rustle as Shikamaru pulled his hand from his pocket, extending it wordlessly to take hold of hers. And then she knew - he was well aware that behind her brash words, she was just trying to be thoughtful.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for your kind reviews. As promised, the InoChou side of what's going on...

I'm glad that someone suggested seeing Kurenai and Konohamaru's views on the event... And while I'm not going to explore either in this fic, I may write a drabble from Kurenai's POV after this is done.

As for where I got 328 at such an early stage... I was linked to it on LiveJournal... not sure where they got it. It's up on a few sites by now... if the translation isn't on NarutoFan yet.

**Habits - 2**

Chouji wasn't really sure why he went into the flower shop that morning. He'd already gotten flowers for the funeral - or rather, his mother had picked some out for him, since through some unspoken agreement his team was avoiding each other right then. Maybe that was why; maybe he just felt that bouquet was too impersonal and wanted to pick one out himself. Maybe it was that the flowers were beautiful and he needed any strand of happiness he could hold onto right then.

Or maybe it was just that he missed his teammates after three days of silence between them. He'd passed by Shikamaru the previous afternoon, but they hadn't exchanged more than a glance. Shikamaru was the type to grieve alone, to avoid showing his weakness to anyone, even his team. Ino was most likely holed up in her room with Sakura - the pink-haired kunoichi, her best friend for so long, tended to be the only one she relied on in moments like this.

That left the Akimichi boy totally and desperately alone. Sure, he had his family, but they'd done little but worry about him, since his grief had caused the ultimate change in his demeanor:

He'd all but stopped eating. Sure, at meal times he still sat down with his family, but after just a few bites he'd push his food around for a bit then quietly excuse himself. He no longer ate snacks all day or lusted after the last bite. Out of concern, his dad had offered to take him to his favorite barbeque restaurant. In response, he'd only cried.

When he saw Ino behind the counter, her usual purple garb abandoned for a less revealing black dress, he actually smiled for a moment. The thought that she was doing well enough to be working this morning gave him a bit of strength, which he in turn used to walk over and greet her.

"Good morning," he offered.

She glanced up at him, taking a moment to make eye contact. Then, without warning, she launched herself at him, pressing her face into his chest and sobbing. The mere sight of his friend in this state nearly made Chouji fall to pieces himself, but he forced himself to swallow his tears, knowing that he'd be able to console her better if she couldn't see how badly he was hurting. Silently his arms wrapped around her, stroking her hair carefully so as not to mess up her ponytail.

A few minutes passed of no noise except her quiet sobs. A customer came into the store, their presence indicated by the chiming of the door's bell, and promptly left again upon receiving a clear "not right now" glance from the rather intimidating chuunin.

"Why him?" she finally whispered, pulling back a little. "I thought we'd all be jounin before he... Or at least that Shikamaru would be... I thought he'd be at my wedding, and thought he'd be a grandpa to my kids and..." she bit her lip, suddenly blushing at her tangent. Like so many girls, she had her life all planned out; her own personal fairy tale, one that probably helped her get through the tougher moments she faced as a kunoichi.

"It must be harder for you, since your family is mostly civilians," Chouji suggested. He'd lost plenty of people - probably half the men in his family - in his lifetime, due to his family's allegiance as ninjas. He knew the closest Ino had come to losing someone important to her was Sasuke's disappearance three years earlier, and he wasn't sure she was over that yet. She was lucky; only her father and a scattering of others had become shinobi, and none of those lost on missions had been close to her.

She nodded quietly, sighing and letting go of him to tighten her hair band. "It's almost time, isn't it?"

"A little less than an hour." He sighed, closing his eyes, then reopening them to scan the room. "Help me choose something to take for him? I think it's the least we could do."

"...What would be the most?"

A half hour later, they arrived at the funeral grounds, each carrying a gift for their departed teacher. In Ino's arms was a beautiful bouquet of their sensei's favorite flowers; in Chouji's, a gift-wrapped box containing a carton of cigarettes and a box of fresh-cooked barbeque.

For once, Chouji would let Asuma have the last bite.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks again everyone for your wonderful reviews, and for the number of people who've put this on fave/alert! As I said before, this is my first Naruto fic, so I'm glad that I seem to have captured everything so well already. There's at least a couple more chapters after this...

I'm about to start work on a Naruto AU after this fic is done, and may write some others as well, and I could really use a beta for it, since my current beta has no Naruto knowledge! If anyone's interested, drop me a message or let me know in a review. I'm okay with my current on spelling/grammar, so I just need someone who can monitor my characterization.

**Habits - Chapter 3**

After depositing their gifts before his photograph, Ino and Chouji fell in line beside their last teammate. They were all in the second row of the small gathering; his few living family members comprised the first. They were surprised to see Temari alongside Shikamaru in their row, but guessed the reason without question. The rest of their row held Kurenai and some of Asuma's closer colleagues, while the remaining rows were made up of the rest of the "rookie nine", their teachers, and Gai's team.

The funeral was overall much the same as Sandaime's had been, though on a smaller scale, as Asuma had been a lesser ninja than his father. It passed uneventfully underneath a defiantly sunny sky, as the priest gave the ceremony and each person attending came up to give their regards in turn.

As the crowd began to disperse, Shikamaru wordlessly slipped away into a nearby alley, wanting to escape from his friends for the time being. Part of him still blamed himself for his teacher's death, and that part needed to grieve, alone - just him and another cigarette from that last pack that'd been in Asuma's pocket as he died. He held the lighter tightly in his fist, both concealed within his pocket, as he stared off into space again. He knew it would be only minutes before Temari found him and started trying to console him, and he wanted to savor the peace between now and then.

When he heard footsteps approaching, he turned his head to (likely pointlessly) ask her to go away for the time being, only to find the large figure of Chouji filling the alley instead of the kunoichi's equally-familiar one.

"Ino and I were going to go out to dinner," he explained, motioning to the girl standing behind him, "and we thought you'd like to come. I'll pay."

Shikamaru thought for a moment, using one sleeve to wipe the smoke-induced water from his eyes. "...Where'd Temari go?" he asked, having last left her talking with his teammates.

"Back to your house to wait for you, since I told her about our plans." He noticed Shikamaru's uncharacteristically puzzled expression and added, "I gave her my key. I thought that, since she's your girlfriend, you wouldn't mind."

"I see... how troublesome." He let out a rough sigh, closing his eyes and leaning against the wall again. He silently hoped that his mother wasn't home right now; he knew his father was out of town on a mission, but even if he'd been around, the worst he'd have done upon seeing the blonde breaking and entering was congratulate both teens on their choice of lovers. His mother was an entirely different story.

A small smile crossed his lips as he replayed Chouji's words. He'd never told anyone, not even Temari, that she was his girlfriend, and yet his best friend had figured it out so readily, despite their lack of public affection. He was one of the only four people who'd ever even begun to really figure Shikamaru out, and now... one of those people was gone.

At least the two who knew him best of all were still here in front of him.

He dropped the cigarette, to lazy to smoke it and walk at the same time. "All right," he said, showing his half-a-smile to his teammates, "let's go."

Even though they'd been Team 10 for nearly five years, it still felt odd to all three chuunin to be walking down the street together. Perhaps it was the fact that their time together had become more and more infrequent since Ino and Chouji's promotion a year earlier. Perhaps it was the haunting silence that had fallen over the three, threatening to deafen them despite the usual Konoha din in the background.

Most likely, it was just the large empty space where Asuma usually followed behind them. Their usual banter seemed pointless without their sensei there to stop it. Anything else that'd happened since they'd last gathered together seemed insignificant in comparison to that one, overwhelming fact.

So it was a combination of factors: his absence and the silence it caused.

Barbeque was out of the question.

It went without saying that Ichiraku should be avoided right then as well; with Ayame out of town, the ramen stand was in an intolerable state of disarray. No one involved wanted to deal with that chaos tonight.

In fact, every place they passed seemed off-limits, either because someone didn't like it or because there were too many memories involved. Chouji's insatiable appetite meant that he'd been to every restaurant in town at least once, and most of those he'd taken his team to for one celebration or another.

Which is why, eventually, the trio found themselves at Chouji's house. He was the only one of their team to already have his own house, and that was simply because Akimichi tradition dictated all shinobi get their own dwelling within the clan's district upon becoming a chuunin. In all reality, he only stayed there often enough to make it look lived in - the rest of the time, he still lived with his parents, and he had no plans to change that. Otherwise, the house was only used when their team (and any additional friends/dates) wanted to spend some time together free from authority figures.

Meaning that Shikamaru spent more time on the house's roof than its owner did inside the house.

For a few minutes, Ino tried to help Chouji make dinner, only to realize that she had no idea how to cook what he was cooking. She settled instead on setting the table and trimming the plants he kept around the house to keep herself busy. Shikamaru was content to just lay on the sofa and stare at the ceiling, one hand idling flicking his - no, Asuma's - lighter. He had too much respect for his friend's house to smoke inside.

Dinner was delicious, as food made with love always was, despite being simple. Rice, a sweet type of chicken that must have been his own recipe, and wonton soup. The meal went by quietly, with few words spoken aside from compliments about the cooking, and things only got quieter once they realized Ino was eating the most out of all of them.

For once in his life, Shikamaru couldn't stand the silence. Things weren't supposed to be quiet between him and his friends; they were loud, energetic, always squabbling over something while he watched, pretending not to be amused. He took one last bite and then dropped his chopsticks and stood.

"I should go make sure mom hasn't killed Temari," he muttered, his eyes fixed on the wall farthest from his teammates. "See you round..."

There was a minor ruckus as both of the others rose to their feet and rushed to cut him off, Ino attaching herself to one of his arms and Chouji wrapping his arms around them both. Shikamaru closed his eyes, taking a moment before putting one hand on each of their backs. They all stood in silence, heads bowed and resting on each other for a few minutes, before he finally spoke again.

"You two have to promise me you won't die until I'm waiting for you in the afterlife," he whispered, earning weak chuckles from them both.

"Only if you promise not to die till you've lived out your life's plan," Chouji countered, squeezing them both a little tighter for a moment.

Shikamaru nodded, letting them go. "I'm working on it. I've got it all planned out."

Ino glanced between the two, unsure of what the two boys were talking about, but deciding that if it was good enough for them, it was good enough for her. She released her grip on Shikamaru's arm, allowing him to escape out the front door.

Truly smiling for perhaps the first time since their sensei's death, they both returned to their dinner... And Chouji had seconds.


	4. Chapter 4

1A/N: Original version of this chapter? Is a rather strong lemon. That can't be found here; this is the R rated version. The real thing is on my MediaMiner account, or can be seen on my LiveJournal if I have you friended (if I don't, that's easy to fix!). Both can be found in my profile.

This was tricky for me to write (both this version and the more graphic one), so please let me know where I can improve!

**Habits - Chapter 4**

As luck would have it, Shikamaru's mom wasn't home when he got there. That likely wouldn't last long, as evidenced by the note lying on the kitchen table:

_Gone to the Akimichis' for the evening, leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry._

_Mom_

_P.S. Tell Temari she needs to stay for breakfast._

His eye twitched as he read the last line of the note, dropping it back on the table with a sigh. There was an after note of amusement in his mind as he realized that minutes before he and his mother had unknowingly only been a few houses apart.

In the sink was a plate, chopsticks, and an empty tupperware - Temari had obviously decided to take advantage of the leftovers since he wasn't going to. That was fine with him, since it meant she wouldn't be bitching about being hungry any time soon.

He headed upstairs and narrowly escaped a wrestling match with the fan leaning against the inside of his door. He'd have to talk to her about her choice of weapon-stashing locations.

It was instantly obvious that his bed was already taken; the kunoichi sleeping there had thrown his pillows to the foot of the bed and was tangled in the blanket, her body in and one foot out. He sighed, glancing out the window. The sun had barely begun to set, and it was a fairly warm evening... there was time yet to enjoy some cloud gazing. He patted his pockets, confirming the items within them before popping open the window and climbing onto the roof.

He sat there for a moment, eyes fixed on a random point in his back yard. His hands slid back into his pants, pulling out the carton and lighter, flicking both open and lighting one up. The action had become instinct in less than four days, and already his eyes had grown almost immune to the irritation from the smoke. He guessed that this was how it'd started for Asuma, though he didn't really know. It was something for his mind to consider, though; something to occupy the time that should have been spent playing board games with his teacher.

Shikamaru slumped back onto the roof, one hand pillowing his head while the other lazily moved his cigarette every now and then. There were barely enough clouds to justify watching tonight, but the sunset was growing gradually more brilliant. His eyes began to fall shut, his second hand joining the first behind his head as he contemplated sleep.

The weight that appeared on his chest came only a minute or two later, but he'd managed to drift off for an instant in between. He looked down over his chin at Temari, who was in turn staring off at the horizon, in the opposite direction of his face. He moved his arm back to rest on her waist, acknowledging her presence, but content with the silence, he decided to wait till she inevitably spoke to start conversing.

Her words didn't come until the cigarette had shrunk to nothing but a filter and been discarded. He felt one of her hands grip his shirt and knew she wanted to say something, so he gave her a half-hearted "Hmm?"

"I still remember when my mom died," she began, and for a moment, he wished he could see her face to know where this was going. "I hated Gaara for the first few years, for taking her away from me. Kankurou doesn't remember her, but I was four, so I remember..." She sighed, the breath moving her whole body. She tended to do that - she wasn't one to half-ass or hide anything, and emotions were no exception. "And when dad was killed by Orochimaru... I remember that, too. We all do."

She rolled over suddenly, holding her head up just a few inches above his chest, to look down at him. "And in the last few months... I nearly lost _both_ of my brothers. For a while, I honestly thought I was going to be alone."

He reached up, touching her cheek softly with his thumb. It was odd to him to hear the normally ultra-tough kunoichi open up in this way. Her pain was radiating off her face, and for a moment he thought she was going to cry. That was before he realized that she already was.

"I don't know how much comfort it is to you, but you're not alone. I know how you feel - I've lost so many people and come close to losing others. In fact..." she closed her eyes, trying to hold back her remaining tears as she realized some had already fallen, "I think you're the only person important to me who hasn't come close to dying yet."

He used his thumb to wipe away the wetness from her face, understanding what she was trying to say. She'd been there when he'd nearly lost his best friend three years before. She knew that losing those close to him - one of the most common facts of shinobi life - was the one thing he couldn't handle, the one thing that would bring him to tears. And she was warning him that she was the same. It was a silent, implied version of the same agreement he'd made with his teammates less than an hour before: neither of them were allowed to die any time soon.

Leaning up to kiss her, he brought his hand behind her neck to comfort her softly. She sighed again, this time much softer, and laid her head back on his chest. They both rested there for a moment, gazing at each other, before Temari's instincts took over, reconnecting their lips and pushing him down by the shoulders. His lips twitched into a smirk before he began to lazily return her eager kisses.

Her hands worked their way off his shoulders and onto his neck, then into his hair, tangling and tugging and forcing his head to tilt to the right so she could kiss him better. The fact that the band tying back his hair managed to stay in place for a good five minutes was proof that she was being slow and gentle today - any other, he'd have been half naked by that time. Unless, of course, she'd gone after her own garments first.

Speaking of which, her kimono had been hiked up around her knees via some wriggling, enabling her to toss one leg over his hips. Now she was somewhere between straddling him and just laying on him. Her thoughts were too focused on the union of their mouths and tongues for her to pay attention to what her body was doing just yet. Temari continued to run her hand through his hair, combing it back from his forehead repeatedly while the other hand gripped loosely at the nape of his neck, holding him where she wanted him.

Shikamaru's hands hung loosely against her back, trailing her spine slowly with just enough force for it to not tickle. With each sweep he tugged at her obi a little more, loosening the sash until it fell open. She slid her knees up alongside his hips, raising her weight from his body. The black kimono hung from her sides, and what edges were still caught between them he tugged free before returning his hands to her sides.

Their mouths separated momentarily as she shifted, allowing them a moment to catch their breath and observe one another. Shikamaru's head lay cocked to one side, his long hair draped above his head where Temari had pushed it after freeing it from its tie. One of his eyebrows was raised as he lazily scanned her face, seemingly apathetic to the fact her half-naked body was only a few inches lower than that. For now he was content to marvel in the red tint covering her cheeks. He knew full well that her rosy face was purely a hormonal flush; Temari wasn't one to get embarrassed, and the only time he'd seen her blush was the first time she'd asked him for sex. That didn't change that it made her uncharacteristically cute. Normal, every day Temari was somewhat beautiful and definitely sexy - in a dangerous way - but the cute version was something only he saw.

That's probably why it made him smirk.

She rolled her eyes, certain the amused expression was the reaction to having a set of boobs displayed for him rather nicely. She hadn't yet mastered the art of reading the leaf shinobi's thoughts, and probably never would. Part of her knew it'd be best if she never did manage to figure him out - the mystery was a large part of what kept her interested.

An impatient shiver ran through her. Yes, it was true that right now they were both depressed, but in her mind, the best cure for sorrow was a major distraction, and she knew no distraction more powerful than sex. She dropped back down, lips diving for his neck as her elbows settled near his shoulders. He let out a sigh that was somewhere between enjoying himself and just being tired, prompting her to growl and increase her efforts.

She'd figured out a few months back that often he'd pretend to be less interested than he was, just to see what she'd try. Now it was a game they'd play; she'd pretend not to know and keep tormenting him until he reacted, and he'd pretend not to know she knew and enjoy whatever was thrown his way.

Only an idiot wouldn't have noticed the frustrated noises coming from his shoulder two minutes later, though, and so he grasped her by the arms, pushing her into his line of sight. Her face was tight, her lips pursed as she avoided his eyes. "Temari?" he asked, even as his slightly-clouded mind assembled a list of a dozen or so reasons for her reaction.

"Damn't." Her teeth clenched, grinding together as she fisted the shoulders of his shirt. "Damn't Shikamaru... do something. Please." She finally looked at him on the last word, her eyes piercing through his with a combination of annoyance and sorrow. "I need to forget about everything."

For a moment, his brain slowed further, the vision of the rainy day four days before filling his eyes for a moment, threatening to bring the wetness with it.

He could respect that. He needed to forget, too.

They'd had sex at least a dozen times since their relationship had progressed to that level, and not once had they done something that either considered "making love". Tonight, moving slowly against each other on the roof, with the sunset as a backdrop, there was just enough affection to their actions to change that. Though unspoken, their efforts to comfort each other were perfect compliments to their respective needs and personalities. Temari slowed down to let him have things his lazy way, relinquishing at least a little control of herself and the situation, and Shikamaru obeyed her wishes without any ulterior motives, aside from the fact he cared about her.

They laid there in silence for a few minutes, until both began to wonder if the other had fallen asleep. He knew she hadn't come a second time, but if she cared, she'd complain about it until one of them did something about it. For now it mattered that she was warm, unlike the air, and that he couldn't really move with her limbs tangled around him anyway.

"It's cold," Temari finally grumbled, "and dark. And someone's bound to notice two naked teenagers on a roof." She dropped her arms and legs from around his body, yawning as she stretched them out. He sat up slowly, shaking his head a little and glancing down at her. She flashed him a ridiculous grin, earning a genuine smile in return from him. "Love you," she announced, adding a tongue to her expression.

"Yeah," he shrugged, standing up a little shakily and pulling up his pants, "love you too." It was probably the closest they came to being mushy with one another, and it was one of the rare times they actually said the L word aloud; both knew the fact well enough that they seldom bothered saying it.

"Wrong way," she said, gesturing to his pants before standing herself, bringing their discarded clothing with her. He glanced down, then back at her, an eyebrow raised. "You're supposed to be taking them off right now. You know, in case I want another."

He shrugged again, ducking in through his window. "If you want that, you can do it yourself," he called after her.

"Well that's not fair." Their clothes landed inside just before her feet did. "Yours are better."

He turned around, walking up to her until their bare chests were pressed together again. Unconsciously she held her breath in sudden anticipation... until he reached past her and shut the window. She snorted, her eyes rolling and head shaking in annoyance.

His lips pressed softly to hers, and she suddenly forgot what had her so annoyed.

"Thanks for being here," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "It means a lot."

She smiled up at him for a moment, nodding. One corner of her lips then rose higher, as she chided, "don't go getting all soft on me now. You've still got an exam to grade in a month."

He sighed, his default expression somewhere between bored and amused taking over his face as he plopped down on the bed. She sat beside him and watched as he fished the lighter out of his pocket and began playing with the lid in one hand. "You're not going to start smoking after sex too, are you?" she asked, only half teasing.

"No," he said, turning his attention from the ceiling to her. "That's something for when I want to remember someone who's not here anymore. If I want to remember you..." he used his other hand to motion for her to come closer, "I can just touch you. You're right here."


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this chapter took so long, everyone. Ino's the hardest character for me to write x.x' So please, if you see anything wrong, let me know! Especially if I missed any involuntary tense changes or if something is horribly OOC. Really.

This is the clean version of my InoChou lemon - fully R rated, I assure, so if you were looking for something a bit more graphic, hit up my MediaMiner or AFF account, linked in my profile, or check my LiveJournal if I have you friended.

Note to the fan who asked: Shikamaru's "plan" is the one he mentioned on the show... the marry an average looking girl, have two kids, etc thing. I can get the full quote for you if you need it!

**Habits - 5**

The rest of dinner had gone by in the same sort of silence, though the air didn't feel quite as thick. Despite the issues she had with his weight, Ino had been happy just to see Chouji's appetite back and didn't want to sabotage it.

They rose quietly, her thanking him for his cooking and offering to help clean up. He shook his head, telling her to go relax. She took her time doing so, pacing the house once before settling on the couch. The room felt empty, like the rest of his house. While the three bedrooms would come in handy later in life, for now the place somehow managed to seem too big, even for an Akimichi. The only decorations were a half dozen photos and even fewer plants spread throughout the house, and a fresh coat of paint on the walls of his bedroom. Only the kitchen felt homey, and that was probably from the rows of spices and bowls of fruit lined up on the counters.

The room Ino sat in consisted of an oversized plush couch, a TV, and a fireplace. There was no point in turning on the TV; Konoha had no stations available, she had no interest in playing video games, and she'd already seen his entire movie collection twice. So instead she curled against one arm of the sofa, closing her eyes and listening to the sounds of Chouji washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen.

All the while, she tried to ignore the voice in her head saying how natural this felt. And yet, time after time, this is where she had wound up after every mission, with or without Shikamaru in tow. Chouji's house had always been their main hangout, since his were the most welcoming out of their parents, but there was something different and more relaxing about it now that he had a place of his own.

She heard him walk past but only looked up after his weight settled on the other side of the sofa. Her gaze was met by a gentle smile and a sigh. "You staying tonight?" he asked, though it was already obvious.

"I thought you'd like the company," she replied, sitting up and straightening out her hair. He merely nodded, eyes falling on the window and staying there.

"It's because of what he said, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before he died, he told you to watch out for us..."

"Oh..." she lowered her head, putting her bangs between her eyes and his face. "Partially, yes. But you know I've always cared about you both." He nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Or at least... I've done my best to, ever since..." She couldn't bring herself to say the words "Sasuke left", but not because of the pain of the memory. Instead, it was a slow realization she'd made over the previous years, that the loss of her childhood crush was trivial compared to so many things in life. She didn't have to say it, though; he knew what she meant. Chouji _always_ knew what his teammates were thinking.

"I know," he said quietly, and she knew from his voice that he had _that_ look on his face, the one that always made her heart ache. He felt her head rest against his chest and wrapped his arms around her carefully. "I'm glad that you're trying to help us," he whispered, and she nodded just a bit.

He was warm and soft and always made her feel safe; he was the one boy she was willing to cuddle with like this, simply because of that. Over the years he hadn't gotten any less chunky, but now his height and weight told not of the fat kid, but of a man with yet unmeasured strength. He was a gentle giant, and Ino really felt Asuma spoke the truth when he called Chouji the strongest of them all. His training regimen had doubled after his hospital release, and she'd quickly upped her own once she saw her teammates leaving her in the dust. Their work had lead them to becoming chuunin a year ago, and she still remembered what he'd said to her that day: that he was proud and happy not because of what either of them had achieved, but because he knew they'd achieved it together. Together they'd learned, gotten stronger, and had nearly caught up to Shikamaru's level. In fact...

Sakura had confided in her about documents she'd found in Tsunade's office. Apparently there was a list of people to be watched under the possibility of promotion to jounin within the month; amongst Team 10, Chouji alone was on the list. She smiled quietly at the knowledge. He, more than any of them, deserved it for his selflessness and effort.

She let her gaze fall out the window, concentrating on the feeling of his fingers smoothing through her ponytail and along her back. After a moment of relaxing there, she turned, looking up at his face and watching him.

It hadn't occurred to her before how handsome he'd gotten in the previous years. That realization caused her to study his face for a moment. She followed his nose up to his eyes, which were slightly puffy from all the crying he'd been doing, and then down his cheeks. Without thinking, one hand rose to touch the end of the spiral, running her finger along the pattern slowly. His eyes turned down towards her, cheeks shifting under her finger as he smiled at the action.

"Having fun," he said, not quite a question.

For a moment she didn't answer, eyes scanning his face once more, and then: "I want you to kiss me."

He blinked a few times, so she repeated herself, sitting up slightly to look him in the eye better.

"Are you and Sakura having a contest again?" he wondered almost jokingly. When they were younger, the girls had a competition to see who could get more boys to kiss them, and had asked her team for their help. Shikamaru had left in disgust, but Chouji had agreed shyly. Ino had won, only because Kiba had kissed them both and Sakura wasn't desperate enough to give in to Naruto or Lee.

"No," she said firmly.

"Then why?"

"Because I just realized we've been together since we were genin."

It took a few seconds for him to realize what she meant. It was sort of true though, once he thought about it. There'd been no official declaration or acknowledgment, but hardly a day had passed in over a year that they hadn't spent together, and every mission had always been concluded with snuggling on the couch with a movie. After Ino had broken up with Kiba, neither had made attempts to see anyone formally, despite the number of men drooling over her, except-

"What about Sai? I thought you liked him."

"I might," she agreed with a sigh, "but it doesn't matter."

Chouji tried hard not to frown at her admission. "Why? I'm sure he-"

"Because _we_ love each other," she half-shouted, her tone somewhere between annoyed and embarrassed. He was dumbfounded, mouth moving wordlessly as a blush crossed his cheeks, until she looked back up at him.

"How did you know?" he finally asked, squeezing her closer subconsciously.

"I've always said there's nothing subtle about you. You've always smiled differently for me, and told me not to worry about dieting." He nodded, looking her in the eyes quietly for a moment. "So, I just thought we could make it official. Instead of wasting any more time pretending..."

He smirked softly, kissing the exposed side of her forehead. "You just wanted to have a boyfriend before Sakura, didn't you?"

She sighed, tired of his stalling. "It's a nice side effect, but no... I just thought it was time I said something, since you aren't too perceptive of hints."

Chouji smiled and shook his head. "I noticed. You're so much more beautiful now that you're not skin and bones." He leaned down further, compensating for the foot difference in their height, and let his nose rub along hers. "Absolutely gorgeous."

For the first time in three years, their lips pressed together, but this time, they meant it. Content sighs escaped them both as Ino wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer. He smiled against her lips, moving to kiss each of her cheeks and her nose in turn. She kept trying to catch his mouth again, finally cupping his jaw in her hand to hold him still long enough for another, firmer kiss.

"I bet Asuma'd laugh if he saw us now," Chouji chuckled, nuzzling her forehead. He winced a second later after hearing her soft panting stop, realizing that their teacher was the last person he should be mentioning now. He sighed, kissing her forehead once more. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything... I just meant that I believe he'd be proud of us, for taking care of each other and for being honest with our feelings..."

She smiled, just a little. "He was, too... He took flowers to Kurenai once a month. More romantic than he looked."

The two sat in silence for a moment, Ino stealing more kisses in the meantime. "...Maybe we should go see her?" Chouji offered, blushing slightly from the attention.

"Not tonight. It's late, and I want to stay here with you." Her eyes fixed on his, unblinking as he reached up to touch her face. "I want to make up for lost time... Everyone's lost time."

The way that her arms tightened around his neck, the way her lips rubbed roughly to his again, the way she sighed when he finally pulled her closer - everything told him where she was going with this. His hand slid behind her head, holding her loosely beneath her ponytail, and she relaxed against him fully.

He swallowed hard at the wetness that crossed his lips a moment later, opening them to accept her kiss. The moan that the sudden warmth caused was muffled by her mouth, but prompted a matching one from her none the less. The kiss lasted at least another minute, punctuated by short sounds from Ino's throat that made him want to never let go.

For the first time she discovered that his shaggy hair was soft, and she gratefully tangled her fingers in it. A few motions freed his forehead protector, setting it aside before continuing to play with his mane. Her eyes glanced between his eyes and lips, trying to decide which interested her more at the moment. His lips won - again - and she pushed back against them, rising up further onto her knees.

After they next separated, Ino leaned her face to his shoulder, wiping her lips dry on his shirt and nuzzling into his neck firmly. She could feel his chest rising and falling rapidly against her, and realized that he was shaking slightly. One hand freed itself from his hair to set softly against his cheek. It was warm from his blush, and when she looked up, she couldn't help but smile at the shy smirk on his face.

He brushed his lips over her cheek, settling them softly on her jaw. One hand rubbed her back, hesitantly moving higher, feeling her heart beating below the surface. "Ino," he whispered, the other arm tightening automatically, keeping her close. He watched her eyes shut as the hand made it's way between them, grazing along her side, her arm, onto her chest...

Her breath hitched as his large hand covered her breast, causing him to freeze. Just as he was about to apologize, she relaxed again, the hand on his cheek moving to play with his earring. He pushed his palm against her softly, moving slowly to test her reaction. To his delight, she let out a long moan, fingers tightening in his hair. His gentle massage continued as his lips trailed along her jaw, playing with her ear.

As their kiss broke, Ino let go of him, sliding down to the floor in front of the couch. He blinked down at her as her arms rested on his lap, and the gaze she returned through slitted eyes was a mischievous one.

"Lean back," she told him, and he obeyed quietly, resting against the couch. Looking down at her, he realized how obvious his arousal was and blushed once he noticed that was where her hands were headed.

"You don't have to-"

She cut him off by a pointed glare, one hand setting against him. "I'll stop if you want me to, but I want to do this."

"Not tonight... not for our first time. I don't want that," he told her, brushing back her bangs to survey her full face. The sight of her crouched there before him sent a shiver down his spine, but he managed to maintain his composure. "I want to do things right."

She nodded a bit, disappointment apparent in her eyes, and for a moment, he honestly wondered if he'd made the right choice. Still, he was a gentleman first and foremost, and wanted to show Ino his affection properly, by focusing on her.

He nodded, indicating for her to stand up, then stood himself, bending to kiss her softly. The full difference in their size was more obvious now then ever before in their life, and Chouji found it hard to believe that less than four years before, they'd been even with one another, just under five feet. He smiled, resting his cheek on her head for a moment and holding her close, urging himself to calm down. Once his breathing had stilled, he leaned down and looped one arm beneath her knees, scooping her into his arms. She shrieked in surprise, clinging to his neck as he held her against his chest, grinning just a few inches from her face.

He carried her to his bedroom, laying her on the sheets - properly, like a princess. His lips sank onto hers, the fingers of one hand tangling between hers, pinning the arm above her head. Somehow his mouth moved from hers to her neck without ever coming off her skin, each progressive kiss making her moan just a bit louder. He nipped at her ear, playing with her earring just a bit, enjoying the fact that, as always, their accessories matched, before moving along the underside of her jaw towards her throat. Most of her shoulders and the upper part of her chest were exposed by her simple black dress, leaving him with plenty of space to let his lips and fingers dance.

She panted and writhed from his touches, wanting him to go lower but knowing that he was gentle in everything he did and so would take his time. She watched his head move along her collar bone, until she was forced to turn her own to give him room. Finally, to her relief, he reached behind her and unzipped her dress, releasing her hand to slide it down her shoulders and have it bunch up around her waist. A few kisses were placed along the edge of her bra before that too was discarded, leaving her bare-chested before him.

Ino wanted him to stop and stare; to examine her as she'd examined him, to be amazed at her assets. Instead, he merely nuzzled between them and began to lay soft kisses there, too, one hand massaging whichever breast his lips weren't on at the time. For the first time she understood what she'd already known but never really comprehended - appearances didn't matter to Chouji. He was a man driven by personality alone. Her content sigh at the thought was quickly drowned out by a moan of his name as his lips continued their exploration.

It'd been quite a while since she'd been with anyone, but it was obvious that even the fog left by time couldn't account for how much better this felt than Kiba's urgent make-out tactics. At some point, Chouji had slid her body to the edge of the bed, her legs hanging over and hips on the edge. Her dress and forehead protector had been removed, slid off to her knees then allowed to fall to the floor on their own.

He was settled between her legs now, her knees over his shoulders, and it was her turn to blush as he nuzzled one of her thighs, looking up at her sheepishly. "I thought this wasn't what you wanted for tonight?" she asked, feeling a little confused and almost frustrated with his self-contradiction.

"This is doing it right," he said softly, kissing low on her stomach, "so that you'll be ready for me."

The pout she shot him was supposed to let him know she was going to get even as soon as possible, but he completely missed the look, his attention already elsewhere.

For several minutes, he concentrated on pleasing her, enjoying the fact that she was as loud in bed as everywhere else. Eventually she pleaded him to move on, and so they made love, his fingers twined tightly in hers the whole time. All the fear either had about being there was quickly gone. There was suddenly nothing to regret, except maybe not doing this sooner, maybe living in denial for the last year, but then she realized that time had been spent growing closer naturally, without the pressure of a physical relationship, and that everything was perfect the way it was.

Content after completion, they rolled onto their sides, her shivering against his chest. It occurred to him as common sense returned that she was crying, and so he kissed below her eyes, whispering, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," she assured, her smile weak but genuine. "Just happy. I love you."

He gave her another kiss for good measure. "I love you too." He sat up for a moment, and Ino took the opportunity to pull herself fully onto the bed, curling up, quiet for once. When he curled up around her a moment later, she nestled into his arms and chest, taking one of his hands and holding it quietly.

Chouji had always believed in living life to the fullest; from now on, he would share that passion with her.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry this one took so long! I got distracted (boyfriend came into town and we had over six feet of snow fell on us in three weeks).

Thanks to my beta, Noble Spirit, for cleaning this up for me. I feel like it's a lot more polished than some of my earlier chapters.

I'm still following the manga pretty closely, but this is where it really starts to diverge (other than the obvious). I honestly think TemaShika is about to become canon, but that's irrelevant. Relevant right now is that I'm not going to follow the manga even close to word for word from here on out, because I can tell it and I're going in somewhat separate directions.

Without further babble...

**Habits – Chapter 6**

It didn't surprise her that he wasn't there when she woke up.

Well, maybe a little. As with the prior day, it was a little odd to find him out of bed before noon. Perhaps Asuma's death had put the world into perspective for him. Maybe he'd have some initiative, some drive for once in his life.

...But not even some initiative could explain Shikamaru being out of bed before dawn. That was beyond weird and bordering on creepy.

Okay, now she was surprised.

Temari bundled her clothes back on and wandered on downstairs, peeking into the kitchen. However, she saw no sign of him or his mother.

She stole an apple and strolled onto the back porch. '_Maybe he had a hard time sleeping and went out to check on the deer,_' she thought, shutting the wooden door behind her. The sky was a cerulean blue, the light of the sun filtering into the otherwise dark sky, although it was not visible yet. In Suna, this was the best time to be outside, and that was probably why she'd reflexively awakened at this hour. She couldn't possibly have gotten cold in his absence – despite her tendency to wrestle the covers off all but her waist in her sleep. No. It had to be instinct.

...So was it instinct that had driven her to round the corner of the porch instead of wander on out into the fields? Or was it just a habit, knowing that if he weren't on the roof, he'd be with his dad or Asuma, playing that game again?

Playing he was. Fully dressed with a cigarette in his mouth - naturally - and sitting rigid as he peered at the board.

He was playing a dead man, or so it seemed. There was no opponent – just a board with a few pieces placed across it.

She noticed his fingers perched together; two blades sitting beside him in an excessively deliberate manner, which sent shivers through her. She swept a hand through her hair, wanting to know what he thought, but not wanting to interrupt. The distraction of wondering when her hair got out of its ties lasted long enough for him to shift, moving the pieces around the board, turn by turn, playing both sides at once.

She tightened her kimono. It couldn't be that cold out here to make her shiver that much, could it?

He sighed heavily, seemingly upset by the outcome, evidenced by him replacing everything to the starting position.

"Shikamaru?" she ventured when he seemed to relax for a moment. He turned, looking almost surprised to see her, then jerked his head, gesturing for her to come over.

"I could use a second brain for this one."

Something about him admitting that scared Temari – her, of all people - so bad that she almost bolted. This was no game. A game couldn't get him up before dawn, and certainly couldn't concern him enough that he'd admit to wanting another's brainpower on it.

She sat down anyway, biting her apple and asking him what was going on while acting nonchalant, playing stupid.

"I can't explain it. Sorry. This is something for me and me alone."

It wasn't fooling him, and when she thought about it, it wasn't fooling her either. But hey, she'd made him contradict hims-

"Troublesome as this one is though, I thought I'd get someone to play the other side. And considering you've been one of my most powerful opponents..."

Oh, yeah, that. That weird mess nearly four years before. She was still pissed at him for what he'd pulled. She made a mental note to punish him for that - again. No sex that night would probably do quite nicely. Not that he hadn't been punished for it a good twenty times, but it's his fault for reminding her of it again.

He kept talking, even after that, and so she sighed, leaning back on her hands as her apple core fell to the side.

"I play as these five pieces, right? That's the idea here?"

"...Basically. There's a few changes in the normal rules though."

And so he explained.

And so they played.

They kept playing after the sun came up, after his mom had come out to see what they were doing, after his dad had come home from his mission and watched them for nearly an hour. Each time, it was a sequence of no more than twenty moves, and usually not more than six, before he reset the board and they tried again.

She knew by afternoon exactly what he had planned. This was about revenge. He was obsessing this badly because his plan had finally failed, because he'd been beaten, and lost someone because of his mistakes. The unknown had caught up with him; there had been too many variables.

The lessons learned three years prior remained with him. He wanted to correct his mistake. However, this time, he knew no one would appear at the last second to save him.

She reached into the pile of discarded pieces and pulled one out, setting it on the board on his side.

"Let me help," she explained, tapping the piece.

He stared at the piece, then at her. He slowly shook his head. "This is our fight." He took the piece back off the board, closing his eyes and rested his fingers together again.

"Maybe you should find something else to do for a bit. Visit the others?"

Damn it, now he wanted her gone. She'd tried to interfere too much. She objected, of course. She objected until her throat was sore and until his mom yelled back at her for him.

Then she stormed off, making a good, dramatic show of it.

Overall, acted as if she was 15 again. Maybe she wanted to be again; maybe she wanted to think she could be his savior once more, instead of just another person he wanted to protect.

She was stronger, older, and higher ranking. She was supposed to protect him, damn it. That had been the deal all along, and it was still supposed to be that way.

_Fucking imbecile._

But that was why she loved him, wasn't it? Because in the end, _everything_ was because he cared.

----------

She spent an hour out with the deer, sitting quietly amongst them. She knew that was likely where he acquired his affection for cloud watching... As a child, he spent his days off from school guarding the herd and thinking, training his mind instead of his body. She'd hoped that being there might give her some sort of insight, some way of helping him short of chasing after him as she tended to. However, she knew she was a decade late to bridge the gap between her intellect and his.

Temari left the field, deciding to rely on the one advantage she had over him: women's intuition.

If only her intuition had something to say other than beating him until his limbs broke.

----------

Dinner... was awkward. She'd never spent more than a few minutes at a time in a room with either of his parents, let alone both. Let alone both without Shikamaru there.

His mom attempted to make conversation, and at first Temari tried to respond in kind, since Shikaku obviously wasn't saying anything. Like father, like son. It got to her after a while, though, and she stood just short of politely, walking outside to retrieve her boyfriend.

She knew they were watching her drag him by, taking him through the kitchen and up the stairs. She knew it was early, and they were aware she'd slept over the night before, and everything else.

She didn't care.

All she wanted was to hold and kiss him and convince him not to do anything stupid - without openly admitting she was worried about him. After all, she didn't worry. Especially not about him.

Even though she loved him.

She threw him on the bed and pounced, kissing him desperately, tearing out his hair tie with one hand while the other pinned one of his above his head. With hands separated, he couldn't use his shadow to force her off him. He was defenseless, and she liked that. Now was the time to teach him what was truly important.

Then she made the mistake of pulling back long enough to get a good look at him. He stared, long and hard, his gaze almost piercing through her, his eyes all but vacant.

"Are you done?" he asked curtly. She nodded, quietly, and rolled off to sit beside him.

"Don't worry, all right," he said, sitting while gathering his ponytail back together with his hair tie. It wasn't a question, or any attempt at comfort; it was a command. "I'm going to go see Chouji and Ino. I'll be back in an hour or two. You can stay here if you want."

There wasn't much she could do if she followed.

So she chose to stay.

---------

His arrival that night consisted of shedding his clothes and collapsing in bed beside her. She pretended to be asleep while he stared at her for almost half an hour before finally falling asleep.

She woke up at sunrise again, but this time, he was lying beside her, and barely more than snuggled his pillow as she climbed out of bed.

Breakfast and a shower later, he was still sleeping. It was so normal, so usual of him, compared to the previous days that Temari couldn't help but feel disturbed. She rubbed her arms, smoothing down the goosebumps, then walked to the bathroom again, tossing the towel from her head to the floor carelessly. She worked on tying her hair back, glancing back down the hall after completing each ponytail. No sign of movement.

She had a meeting to attend. A couple, actually. He was supposed to go to one of those, too...

Why did the idiot have to look so cute with his hair down and drool hanging from his open mouth?

...Yeah, she'd tell Yoshino to wake him up in time for his meeting.

----------

He opened his eyes and sat up, wiping his mouth on his forearm. God, she wasn't even trying to hide the fact she was staying here, let alone _sleeping in the same bed_, was she? It had to have occurred to her that they would get in trouble if his parents came to the (obvious) conclusion that he was intimate with a girl, let alone one from a different village. She was one of the smartest people he knew, so the fact couldn't have escaped her.

No, there was only one answer; she was in league with his mother. His dad wouldn't have cared to begin with... In fact, Shikaku whistled at her at one point. Likely just to annoy his son, of course, but it still meant that he could care less what they were up to. No, it was his mom he had to watch out for, and she...

Was downstairs yelling for him to get out of bed. Great. Why did she wake him up from such a good sleep, especially after he'd been up late the night before? Well, not wake him so much as get him out of bed, since he was already awake.

She was still yelling. He stood up, stretching slowly, then called back in a flat, barely raised voice, "I'm up, mom. I know, the meeting."

Two of them. Two crazy women under one roof, both in control of his life and now possibly in cooperation with each other. He wondered what was in his dad's genetics that made Nara men attracted to bitches.

Then he remembered her smile. He sighed, knowing why.

He'd have to make sure he saw it as much as possible that night. Just in case. If everything went as planned, then he'd have a million more chances to see it. If not – and things seldom went exactly as he planned – it might be his last chance. He couldn't afford for it to be, of course,... not after all he'd promised to her and to his old teammates, not after all she'd lost. Things must go smoothly.

For now, he had to work on acting normal. He knew that Temari, and possibly his whole family, was suspicious after how he'd spent the previous day. It was obvious that he planned revenge; he wanted them to believe he'd realized all plans were impractical, and decided against it. That'd be best.

So would get dressed. Standing around in his boxers wasn't going to accomplish anything.

----------

One night over at Chouji's, her parents had understood, especially after the funeral. Two they'd been iffy about, but they dealt with it anyway. Three, though, she knew would be too much, but she was going to do so anyway... which meant that she'd gone to work in the shop that morning, just to appease them a bit. When Chouji picked her up for lunch, they made the best show possible of things being perfectly normal, pretending they weren't together, and that they hadn't spent most of the previous 48 hours roaming in bed, or planning illegal missions.

They put together a simple bouquet – white periwinkle and forsythia – before leaving, which Ino clung to with both hands as they wandered down the street. Lunch was surprisingly easy and normal, but that wasn't going to be the hard part. No, the rest of the day... seeing Kurenai and talking with her for the first time since Asuma's death...

She wasn't their teacher, but they'd come to know her well over the years. Her relationship with Asuma had been public only to their two teams, though of course Tsunade knew of it – as Hokage, it was her job to know everything about her village. The last few days of grief had been left to herself and her own team, but now it was Ino and Chouji's turn to go comfort the older kunoichi; Shikamaru had gotten his chance back when she first learned the truth.

It was obvious from the moment she opened the door that Kurenai was still hurting. Her eyes were surrounded by dark circles and her smile was strained, though at least today she was trying. At the funeral two days before, there'd been no sign of anything but pain and sorrow on her face. Ino nearly dropped the bouquet in her hurry to give the woman a hug, and Chouji quickly embraced them both, bending down so that his arms wrapped around their shoulders. One after another burst into tears, right there on the doorstep.

Slowly they calmed again, smiling quietly at each other as Kurenai invited them in, closing the door behind them. She fetched a small vase for the bundle of white flowers, placing them on a table as her guests sat on the couch.

They talked quietly, catching up on things. It'd been a few months since they'd been together like this, the group drifting apart into their designated new teams in the Nijuu Shotai. Most of it was simple conversation, or reminiscing about Asuma – the stories were far and few between for now, but they all knew that there was enough to last for years to come.


End file.
